The Black Blades
by Eternal Assassin
Summary: First Fan Fic, so please R&R. Basically about an adventuring band. Read if you want to know more!


DISCLAIMER THINGY: These characters are the characters I use when I D&D. They belong to moi. Please don't use them without contacting me first. Also, please criticize me as much as possible. I AM AWARE THAT THE DATES AND PLACES ARE INCORRECT. PLZ EXCUSE ME. And be known that I do switch characters, so don't be confused.  
  
....................................  
  
Esgiloth Imytholen sat peacefully in a tree, meditating and simply enjoying nature. Eventually he just rolled onto his back and gazed up at the sky through the leafy boughs. This is the life, he thought to himself.  
  
He slowly drifted into the reverie that Elves use as a substitution for sleep. As he was almost "asleep," the sky suddenly darkened. His eyes opened in time to see two shadow dragons floating across the sky. He jumped down from the tree and stared at them in awe.  
  
Suddenly as they passed one of them lobbed a glob of acid to the elven city of Garthorin below. The other followed suit. Before Esgiloth could blink three times half the city was in ruin, and the elven people were running amok.  
  
Esgiloth leaped down from the tree and began running towards the gates of the city, swept up in the tide of the Fair Folk. His only thought was to get away.must get away.  
  
Esgiloth bolted upright, beads of sweat on his forehead. It had been roughly five hundred years since his homeland had been destroyed, and yet he still relived that faithful day every night in his sleep. He was one of the few elves left to remember the destruction of Garthorin, and it had faded into legend like Cormanthyr.  
  
He looked around at his present surroundings. The campfire that had still been raging when he had lain down to sleep was nothing but softly glowing embers.  
  
The faint light illuminated his traveling companions; Aedian Ilphukiir, the scimitar- and bow-wielding ranger, who was the only other full elf like he; the half-elven thief Mika Ashallows who was Aedian's beloved, Raptre Detestin the Battle-Priest of Tempus, and last but CERTAINLY not least, Diadin Celest, the greatsword-wielding warrior. He had adventured with these four characters for two seasons, and in that time had gotten acquainted with them pretty well.  
  
They had called themselves "the Black Blades" and had achieved a decent reputation.  
  
He smiled as he thought of all the times they had had together. Lying back upon his bedroll, he fell asleep with a smile on his face, knowing he was among true friends. ....................................  
  
The next morning Aedian awoke to the sounds of his companions packing up camp. As he slowly opened his eyes Mika saw he was awake and shoved a parcel of food in his face.  
  
  
  
"Come on, slowpoke," she scolded affectionately. "You took so long in getting up that you are lucky there is any food for you!"  
  
With a lazy grin Aedian hoisted himself up from his bedroll and began wrapping it up, while taking the parcel of food in one fluid motion.  
  
"I bet you I can be ready packed up and ready on my horse faster then you can," he taunted Mika. She nodded to signify that she took that bet, smiling as wide as him, and turned to her own duties.  
  
Within the span of 15 minutes everyone was ready to go. They had to get a note from Duke Jorun to Duke Kijin, but they were in no hurry. They were already most of the way through their voyage and should be at their destination by nightfall.  
  
However, on this leg of the trip they had to go through the Spider Wood, where Orcs are known to set up camp frequently.  
  
As they set out slowly upon their horses Diadin muttered sullenly, "I don't see why we have to be playing messenger boy."  
  
"Oh, stop it," Esgiloth replied. "We have gone through this before. We need something to fill our moneybags." Upon saying this he shook the moneybag in question, from which were only heard a few small clinks.  
  
By highsun they were standing at the entrance to Spider Wood. Before going in Esgiloth and Raptre cast protection spells over them. After disembarking from their horses, they set off inside.  
  
An hour passed of them trudging along silently, trying not to alert the creatures of Spider Wood. Everything was silent except for the occasional chirp of a bird and the steady clop clop of the horse's hooves.  
  
The trees overhead had grown so dense that they couldn't see the sky overhead. When it became as dark as midnight Esgiloth conjured up a small light to bob before them in midair.  
  
After a while there was an audible rustle in the bushes behind them, but no one seemed to notice it except for Esgiloth. He nudged Aedian, who was walking beside him, and whispered, "I think we are being followed by something. What do you think it is?"  
  
Aedian slowly drew a bow from his back, and loaded it with an arrow. He slowly turned around and surveyed the path behind them.  
  
Apparently seeing something he wanted, he loosed the arrow into the bushes. There was a soft thump, and an orc with an arrow protruding from its heart fell onto the road.  
  
"I think it's an orc," Aedian said innocently. Esgiloth rolled his eyes upward as if seeking help about the same time Raptre, Mika and Diadin turned around to see what had happened.  
  
Everything was silent for about five heartbeats, and then noise erupted in woods on the side of the road. It sounded like many Orcs chanting something. Everyone turned to Esgiloth, who was skilled in languages.  
  
"What are they saying?" asked Raptre. Esgiloth listened for a second, and then his face paled. "It is a war chant," he whispered. "They are whipping themselves into a frenzy.  
  
Moments later he was proven correct. About 50 orcs came thundering out of the woods towards the adventurers.  
  
No one wasted any time in being surprised. Raptre began casting a spell at the same time that Esgiloth did. Raptre finished his a split second before Esgiloth, and a barrier of whirling blades appeared in a ring around the Black Blades.  
  
Orcs fell quickly, their heads or torsos sliced off. Then Esgiloth finished his incantation and a fireball roared out, taking the lives of about ten orcs.  
  
At this the orcs retreated and began pacing a circle around the blades. The orcs that had bows shot arrows at the adventurers, only to ricochet off an invisible shield that was raised at the start of the forest by Esgiloth. Aedian was having more luck then the orcs were with their bows.  
  
Every arrow he shot took the life of an orc. Soon his quiver was running low and he decided to save the rest for later. The mage and the cleric did not want to waste any more spells either. In the back of the horde, an orc began chanting.  
  
"Well at least we have the blade barrier," said Mika, ever the optimist. Then the orc stopped chanting and a ball of green light roared out. Upon contact with the blades the green ball exploded and destroyed them. "Never mind," corrected Mika. The orcs rushes forwards once again. Diadin took up his sword, Raptre his hammer. Aedian drew forth from the twin sheaths on his back two scimitars, one glowing with a black fire and the other pulsing with red. They rushed forward and the battle began anew.  
  
For every orc that fell, another took its place. Orc archers began shooting their bows again, but with not much accuracy. Soon, however, an arrow whistled through the air and took Diadin in the shoulder.  
  
Gritting his teeth, he tugged it out and began to fight again. However, even he couldn't deny the blood staining his armor. The orc shaman began chanting again, and soon the remaining twenty or so orcs were shielded by magic.  
  
"We need to stop that shaman!" Raptre cried, as his warhammer crushed an orc. Upon his words Mika faded into the forest, invisible to all eyes. No one had any time to ponder what she was doing though, as they were caught up in fighting.  
  
Esgiloth was back out of the fray, fighting with a small red throwing dagger that when it touched its target, it would explode in a small fireball and appear back in his hand.  
  
The orc shaman had begun chanting again. However, he never finished his new spell. Mika appeared behind him and plunged a dagger into his back.  
  
The orcs quickly lost heart at seeing their leader fall. Aedian sliced down with his scimitars simultaneously, neatly cutting an orc into thirds, and spun, looking for the next opponent.  
  
However, there were none to be seen. Diadin and Raptre encountered the same problem quickly. The path was heaped with goblinoid bodies.  
  
Diadin, his fighting done, looked at the blood staining his armor. He pointed at it, said, "I've been hit," and collapsed in a heap. Raptre rushed over to him and quickly began a healing spell. ....................................  
  
Five hours later, they were still in the same place on the path. Diadin was fast on the road to recovery.  
  
"That was a close one," he said, with a bit of effort. "I owe you one, Raptre."  
  
"You don't owe me anything," Raptre replied. "The person you owe is Tempus, for allowing me to heal you."  
  
Esgiloth strode over with a worried look on his face. "Do you think you could travel, Diadin? We need to get out of here soon before another group of orcs like that shows up," he said.  
  
Diadin eased himself up. "Just show me the horse," he said with a grin. Esgiloth matched his grin happily and gestured to the horse he had been riding. Diadin strode over with barely a limp and clambered onto the back of the horse. The others followed suit. They put the horses to a gallop and were soon out of the forest.  
  
They passed by an inn without a word having gone between them. They didn't have the money to spend to stay at the inn. They hoped that the Duke Kijin would let them stay in his keep for the night.  
  
Before long the stone Kijin Keep loomed above them. They disembarked and led the horses to the front gate. The guards stationed there menaced them with leveled pikes, and asked, "What business have you here?"  
  
Mika stepped forward and wearily answered, "We have a message for Duke Kijin from Duke Jorun."  
  
The guards brought their pikes up and one of them said, "The duke has been expecting you." Then the one that had spoken pulled on a rope by the door four times. A bell bonged each time he pulled the rope.  
  
One stable boy for each bong appeared and took the horses away. Then the same guard said, "Follow me." With that he strode through the gate. The Black Blades did as he asked.  
  
After going up many stairways and through many halls the group arrived at an ornate door. By the time that they got to their apparent destination the Black Blades were exhausted.  
  
The guard tapped the butt of his pike against the door and a voice from within said, "Who goes there?"  
  
The guard replied, "I come with the adventuring band with a message from Duke Jorun."  
  
"Well come in then!" came the reply from inside. The guard gently opened the door, it emitting only the faintest of squeaks, and stepped inside.  
  
The room within was obviously the room of the Duke. The walls were magically enchanted and softly glowed gold. The furniture was well made and had ornate sculptures of dragons and such upon it.  
  
Standing in the middle of the room was the Duke. He wore the finery of nobles and had the body shape of one who ate well and exercised little.  
  
"Ah, welcome!" he chuckled. "I understand that you have a message for me from my brother, Duke Jorun!"  
  
"Yes, we do, Sire" gasped Esgiloth breathlessly. He pulled from his cloak a piece of paper that was covered with the seal of Jorun. It was in pretty sorry condition. All of the Black Blades winced at the site of it. Esgiloth handed it to the Duke.  
  
The Duke, upon taking it, broke the seal with utmost care and read the message on the paper with a slight frown on his face. Soon he was apparently finished with reading it.  
  
"Ah, thank you for delivering this to me," he said happily. "I think you deserve a slight reward for your troubles. How about, hmm, 5000 gold pieces each.  
  
At his words the Black Blades, who were practically sleeping on their feet, awoke with a snap and straightened up.  
  
"Did you just say 5000 gold pieces!?!" asked Aedian, amazed. Kijin nodded.  
  
" The money will be rewarded to you tomorrow," smiled the Duke. "Until then, would you afford me the honor of staying the night here, in my keep? Tomorrow morning, the money will be given to you and we can discuss a task that I could ask of you."  
  
The Black Blades wearily looked at each other and nodded. Then they looked at the Duke and nodded as one. The Duke snapped his fingers and the guard came from behind the door and said, "Follow me." Then he turned around and strode out the door.  
  
Each of the Black Blades was guided to a different room. The beds felt like the beds of Heaven. That night, even Esgiloth slept peacefully. 


End file.
